Turnaround efforts are starting to pay off for Hudson’s Bay Co., which reported an increase in same-store sales driven by luxury chain Saks Fifth Avenue.
Key insights
Comparable same-store sales, a metric closely watched by analysts, climbed 2.9 percent. Including the impact of a promotional event that was moved forward, sales rose 1.2 percent. The Toronto-based retailer reported a smaller loss per share than a year earlier. Efforts to sharpen the fashion assortment and build more bridges between online and offline shopping at luxury chain Saks Fifth Avenue are paying off, with same-store sales up 7.3 percent. In contrast, Saks OFF 5th chain reported a 2.3 percent drop in comparable sales despite efforts underway to turn around business at the 133 stores. The company improved its gross profit margin by reducing discounts.
Market reaction
Stock has fallen 20 percent this year through Tuesday’s close, more than twice the decline of the main Canadian stock market gauge. The shares were little changed at C$8.97 in Toronto Wednesday For more details on the results, click here.
Digging deeper
Chief Executive Officer Helena Foulkes says in an interview that the company is still fixing the fundamentals, though she’s pleased with progress. “Everything still remains on the table” she said, repeating a motto that’s led to HBC selling Gilt, closing some Lord & Taylor stores and merging European operations with Signa Holding GmbH’s Karstadt. No need for HBC to sell its Vancouver building as the company feels good about liquidity, Foulkes says.
